There are two things in this world Pete Rose loves most. Baseball and Pete Rose. Not necessarily in that order.

I spent a lot of time with Rose. I first interviewed him in 1979, for Philadelphia Magazine, right after he signed with the Phillies. I would go on that year to do The Playboy Interview, the one that created national headlines, with Rose talking of the easy use of amphetamines in the Phillies’ locker room.

In this first never-before-heard interview, with his pal Larry Bowa in the room, I asked Rose who he thought was the best player in baseball.

When I spent a couple of days with Muhammad Ali, back in the ‘70s, after he lost to Joe Frazier, Ali showed me his Rolls-Royce. And then he told me this story about how he got stopped for speeding one day by a Georgia State trooper. Ali, always with a flair for the dramatic, played both roles. Click below to listen.

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About the Author

Maury Z. Levy has been a major media force for over 40 years now. In the 1970s, he helped put regional magazines on the map. As Editorial Director of Philadelphia Magazine, he won an amazing amount of national journalism awards for investigative, consumer and lifestyle reporting. At the same time, he was credited as the founder of “concept journalism,” having created such widely known and imitated features as “The Best and Worst of Philly” and “People to Watch.”

In the 1980s, Maury went national, with just as much impact. As Director of New Publications for Playboy Enterprises, Inc., his Playboy Guides to Fashion, Electronic Entertainment, Cars and Travel became the template for a new generation of marketing-savvy, highly targeted media. And Maury became a much sought after media expert, appearing on such programs as The Today Show, CNN Newsmakers, Geraldo, Entertainment Tonight and The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.

His work has appeared on the covers of publications from New York Magazine to WomenSports. A contributor to numerous books, he is the author of Gym Psych: The Insider’s Guide to Health Clubs, published by Random House.

His major interviews with Muhammad Ali, Mike Wallace, Jimmy Stewart, Raquel Welch, William F. Buckley Jr., and Pete Rose, among others, have appeared throughout the world. His work has been featured in the best sellers The Playboy Interviews: The Best of 30 Years and The Playboy Interviews: They Played the Game.

He is now chairman of Levy Jacobs Marketing, headquartered in Marlton, NJ. The company helps put new businesses on the map and helps existing businesses grow.

Contact: maury@levyjacobs.com.

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